Should you Smoke in your Home

The advent of electronic cigarettes or e-cigarettes has been an interesting development in the past 5-10 years. There have been many discussions about the the healthfulness of e-cigarettes versus traditional cigarettes. Traditional, of course, means that the user is smoking a tobacco product. Typically, this consists of paper that surrounds the stick, the tobacco inside, and a filter segment that goes into the mouth.

What has been well established over the decades is that regular tobacco smoking has brought about significant health issues to regular users. There has also been a lot of evidence to show that those near burnt cigarette smoke receiving “second hand smoke” also can experience negative health effects. There’s some controversy about the actual reasons behind these negative health effects of smoking. Some say that it’s actually not so much the tobacco itself that is causing the issues. Instead, it may be the additives to the tobacco in terms of certain chemicals that is causing the majority of the issues. There’s a useful article here that addresses the question of whether e-cigarettes are healthier than their traditional cousins here.

Whatever the case may be, the interesting thing about the electronic version of smoking is that you are no longer burning tobacco. Instead, what these products offer the user is the ability to get nicotine into their bodies. Nicotine is the addictive substance that is within tobacco that users may or are ultimately after. So, instead of burning tobacco to get the nicotine into your system, you can “vape” their e-cigarettes and be able to get the same effect.

Now, while you’re still introducing an addictive chemical or drug (nicotine) into your body, you are no longer introducing carcinogenic smoke of tobacco burning and the effect of other chemicals that are in traditional cigarettes. This also is relevant to those around those that are using e-cigs as there is no more second-hand smoke risk. Or, at least, not in the same way. You will still see a thick cloud of those that are using these new electronic products. There are also additives in these products to give them certain aromas and tastes. Obviously, this is to please the user, but it may be entirely clear if these additives are natural or what impacts they have to the user or to those around them.

When it comes to smoking at home, not only did you have the problems with smoke that many find objectionable, but you also had the effects of smoke on furniture, fixtures, and other materials of the house. So, these new product create an interesting alternative, where you can smoke now more freely within one’s home without as much concern for environmental or health issues.